Tie clip

ABSTRACT

A tie clip comprises a body ( 11 ) and an elastic tab ( 12 ) facing a face ( 16 ) of the body ( 11 ) and having a first end ( 13 ) constrained to said body ( 11 ) and a second free end ( 15 ). The tab ( 12 ) is provided with a first elastic thrust component (A) directed towards the body ( 11 ). A further elastic element ( 18 ) is constrained to the body ( 11 ) at its face ( 16 ) and is provided with a second elastic thrust component (B) directed towards the tab ( 12 ).

The present invention refers to a tie clip with an innovative system for holding the two strips of the tie and the shirt.

In the prior art there are various types of tie clip. Amongst those most widely used are the clamp-type tie clips, consisting of a body (generally equipped, on the visible front face, with good aesthetic characteristics) intended to overlap the outside of the wide (outermost) strip of the tie and an elastic tab, which is fixed with one of its ends to the body of the tie clip and is elastically thrusted at an intermediate portion thereof, or at the other end, against the rear face of the body itself to hold the two strips of the tie and a portion of the shirt between itself and the body of the tie clip, typically a portion corresponding to the hem of the front opening of the shirt itself.

A functional limit of this type of tie clip is that the strips of the tie and the hem of the shirt can easily slip out, making the function of this clothing accessory worthless. On the other hand, the elastic thrusting force of the tab against the body of the tie clip cannot be increased beyond a certain value because in this way it would become difficult to apply the tie clip itself, with the risk of damaging the fabric during the operation of inserting it onto the tie and onto the shirt.

The general purpose of the present invention is to avoid the aforementioned drawbacks by providing a tie clip with improved attachment characteristics of the tie to the shirt.

In view of such a purpose, it has been thought to make, according to the invention, a tie clip comprising a body and an elastic tab facing a face of the body and having a first end constrained to said body and a second free end, said tab being provided with a first elastic thrust component directed towards the body, characterised in that a further elastic element is constrained to the body at said face of the body, said further elastic element being provided with a second elastic thrust component directed towards the tab.

In order to make the explanation of the innovative principles of the present invention and its advantages with respect to the prior art clearer, hereafter, with the help of the attached drawings, we will describe a possible example embodiment applying such principles. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 represents a perspective view of a tie clip according to the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a top plan view of the rear part (i.e. from the side of the elastic holding means) of the tie clip of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 represents a side elevational view of the tie clip, shown in inoperative condition;

FIG. 4 represents a side elevational view of the tie clip, shown in a condition fixing a tie to the shirt.

With reference to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a tie clip, generically indicated with 10, which comprises a main body 11 intended to externally overlap the wide (outermost) strip of the tie and an elastic tab 12, which is connected with a first end thereof 13 to the body 11 of the tie clip.

Advantageously, the elastic tab 12 is made in one piece as an extension of the body 11 bent at 180° with respect to this as can clearly be seen in the figures.

The tab 12 is formed to have an elastic thrust component directed towards the body 11 of the tie clip, as schematically indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3.

The tab 12 is also curvilinear shaped so as to have at least its portion 14, intermediate between the first constrained end 13 and the second free end 15, closer to the rear face 16 of the body 11 with respect to the aforementioned first end 13. Advantageously, the second free end 15 of the tab 12 is oriented away from the rear face 16 of the body 11 to facilitate the insertion of the tie clip onto the tie and onto the shirt.

In the present description by rear face 16 of the body 11 we mean the face of the body of the tie clip that, in use, faces towards the user's chest. The body 12 is also equipped with a front face 17 that, being intended to be in view in front of the tie, can normally be made with aesthetically pleasing finishes.

According to the innovative principles of the present invention, the tie clip 10 is equipped, at the rear face of the body 11, with a further elastic element or bridge 18 that extends longitudinally to the body 11 and is fixedly connected with its ends 19, 20 to the body itself. The intermediate portion 21 of the elastic bridge 18, on the other hand, remains without constraints.

The bridge 18 is elastically loaded so as to have an elastic thrust component directed away from the body 11 of the tie clip, as schematically indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 3, in other words directed towards the elastic tab 12.

Advantageously, the elastic bridge 18 is shaped, at its intermediate portion 21, according to an undulated profile with rounded crests 22 to make a good hold on the tie without damaging the fabric.

Again according to the invention, the elastic tab 12 is provided at the centre with a longitudinal opening 23 intended to allow the insertion into it of a portion of the elastic bridge 18. Advantageously, the opening 23 is present at least in the intermediate portion 14 of the elastic tab 12 that is closer to the rear face 16 of the body 11. As can be clearly seen in FIG. 2, the opening 23 has a width “D” that is slightly greater than the width “d” of the bridge 18.

According to a preferred embodiment, the bridge 18 has an end 19 fixedly connected (or constrained in a fixed manner, for example through welding) to the body 11 of the tie clip, whereas the opposite end 20 is slidably constrained to the body 11, advantageously through insertion of the aforementioned end 20 in a transversal slot 24 present on the body 11, so as to allow a longitudinal movement of the end 20 of the bridge 18 with respect to the body 11, suitable for absorbing the elastic deformations to which the bridge itself is subjected during use, as will be explained in greater detail hereafter.

FIG. 3 shows the tie clip in rest condition, before insertion on the tie. In this condition, the elastic thrust components of the tab 12 (arrow A) and of the bridge 18 (arrow B), directed towards one another, respectively keep the tab 12 in position close to the rear face 16 of the body 11 of the tie clip and the bridge 18 in position away from said rear face 16. Advantageously, thanks to the presence of the longitudinal opening 23, the bridge 18 can insert, at least partially with its intermediate portion 21 and the relative crests 22, inside the tab 12, substantially obtaining a “juxtaposition” between bridge and tab. This situation can be clearly seen in FIG. 3.

In practice, the “juxtaposition” of the bridge 18 and the tab 12 can be such that the crests 22 of the intermediate portion 21 of the bridge project through the opening 23 slightly beyond the tab itself.

FIG. 4 shows the tie clip applied onto a tie 25. In particular, in FIG. 4 it is possible to see, in section, the wide strip (or outer strip) 26 of the tie 25, its narrow strip (or inner strip) 27 and the part of the shirt 28 to which the tie must be fixed, typically the hem of the front opening of the shirt itself.

When the tie clip is inserted into position on the tie, the thickness of the fabric of the tie and of the shirt pushes the elastic tab 12 and the elastic bridge 18 to move away from one another against the respective elastic thrusting forces A and B. In this step, the tab is subjected substantially to a rotation movement about its end 13 fixedly connected to the body 11 of the tie clip, while the bridge 18 approaches the body 11, according to a direction perpendicular to it, substantially “straightening itself” with respect to the arched configuration projecting from the body 11 that the bridge 18 had in the condition of FIG. 3. The “straightening” of the bridge 18 has the effect of slightly increasing its size in the longitudinal direction of the body of the tie clip, said increase being compensated by the possibility of the end 20 of the bridge sliding in the slot 24.

In the condition of FIG. 4 the tie and the hem of the shirt stay clamped between the elastic tab 12 and the bridge 18 thanks to the respective elastic forces A and B, more specifically with the wide strip 26 of the tie in contact with the intermediate portion 21 of the bridge 18 (in particular with its rounded crests 22), with the hem of the shirt 28 in contact with the intermediate portion 14 of the tab 12 and with the narrow strip 27 of the tie located between the wide strip 26 and the hem of the shirt 28.

Unlike clamp-type tie clips of the prior art, where the tie and the hem of the shirt were clamped directly between the elastic tab and the rigid body of the tie clip, and the fabric was thus subjected to a single elastic thrust component directed towards the body itself, in the tie clip according to the present invention the thrusting force necessary to hold the fabric can be divided into two components directed opposite one another (respectively generated by the tab 12 and by the bridge 18) and this, together with the rounded shape of the crests 22 that make up the holding portion of the bridge on the fabric, allows to obtain a firm grip of the tie and of the shirt without excessively stressing the fabric. Indeed, the undulated profile of the bridge 18 ensures that the fabric can in part “follow” such undulations, thus reducing the tensions in the fabric.

At this point it is clear how the predetermined purposes have been achieved, providing a tie clip that allows firm attachment of the tie to the shirt, without the risk of damaging the fabric.

Of course, the above description of an embodiment applying the innovative principles of the present invention is given just as an example of such innovative principles and therefore should not be taken to limit the scope of protection claimed here.

For example, the exact configuration of the parts that make up the tie clip can vary with respect to what is shown, even according to the specific aesthetic solutions desired.

Moreover, the elastic tab 12 can also be equipped with a slight plastic deformability component, so that it is possible, by pressing with the fingers, for example to adjust the actual distance of the tab 12 from the body 11 of the tie clip in the “rest” condition of FIG. 3, and thus the actual elastic force to be applied to the tie. 

1. A tie clip comprising a body and an elastic tab facing a face of the body and having a first end constrained to said body and a second free end, said tab being provided with a first elastic thrust component directed towards the body, characterised in that a further elastic element is constrained to the body at said face of the body, said further elastic element being provided with a second elastic thrust component directed towards the tab.
 2. The tie clip according to claim 1, characterised in that said further elastic element is an elastic bridge which extends in a longitudinal direction with respect to the body, with a first end fixedly connected to the body and a second end slidingly constrained to the body.
 3. The tie clip according to claim 2, characterised in that said second end is slidingly inserted in a transversal slot on the body.
 4. The tie clip according to claim 1, characterised in that the tab is provided at its centre with a longitudinal opening intended to allow the insertion thereinto of a portion of said further elastic element.
 5. The tie clip according to claim 4, characterised in that the longitudinal opening of the tab has a width slightly greater than the width of said portion of the further elastic element.
 6. The tie clip according to claim 2, characterised in that a portion of said further elastic element, intermediate between its ends, is shaped according to an undulate profile with rounded crests.
 7. The tie clip according to claim 6, characterised in that the tab is provided at its centre with a longitudinal opening intended to allow the insertion thereinto of a portion of said further elastic element and in that the rounded crests are provided on the portion of said further elastic element which can be inserted in the longitudinal opening of the tab.
 8. The tie clip according to claim 4, characterised in that the tab has an intermediate portion that is closer to said face of the body than its first constrained end, the longitudinal opening being provided at least in said intermediate portion.
 9. The tie clip according to claim 1, characterised in that the second free end of the tab is orientated away from said face of the body.
 10. The tie clip according to claim 3, characterised in that the elastic tab and the further elastic element are mobile, against the respective elastic thrust components, in such a way that the tab rotates around its first end constrained to the body and the further elastic element approaches perpendicularly to said body, said approaching being allowed by simultaneous sliding of its second end in the transversal slot provided onto the body. 